Akay’s curcumin reaches hippocampus in study mapping free-form curcuminoids in brain

10 May 2021 --- A new animal study in India demonstrates Akay Natural Ingredients’ proprietary curcumin ingredient’s ability to cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and details which areas of the brain the free-form curcuminoids reach. 

Enhanced behavior and cognition in healthy Wistar rat subjects were also observed, without any evidence of accumulation over time – indicating its safety.

Akay hails the study as an industry milestone, naming CurQfen as the first bioavailable form of curcumin on the nutraceutical market with systematic information on its BBB-permeability and brain tissue distribution.

CurQfen is a self-emulsifying food-grade formulation of curcuminoids using a fenugreek galactomannan hydrogel scaffold as curcumagalactomannosides (CGM). 

“We are very excited to announce that CurQfen has established BBB-permeability and preferential distribution of curcuminoids in the hippocampus – an important part of the limbic system and a cortical region that regulates motivation, emotion, learning and memory,” says Emmanuel Nambusseril, chief marketing officer at Akay Natural Ingredients. 

The Akay-supported study that establishes the brain regional pharmacokinetics of CurQfen was published in the journal Nutritional Neuroscience. 

Researchers found the distribution of free-form curcuminoids especially significant in the hippocampus.The problem of bioavailability 
A large number of in vitro studies have shown interesting pharmacodynamics for curcumin as a neuroprotective agent. 

However, its therapeutic potential for humans lies in the success of formulations capable of delivering the bioactive form of curcuminoids to brain tissues at significant concentrations. 

Native or “free forms” of curcumin are BBB permeable. But, once it has undergone biotransformation or metabolized into glucuronides and sulfates (conjugated metabolites), it cannot enter the brain since the conjugated metabolites are bulky water-soluble molecules with no BBB-permeability. Instead, they undergo fast renal clearance.  

“Therefore, the key in brain health is the availability of the free form of curcuminoids in systemic circulation at pharmacologically relevant concentrations, such as > 37 ng/mL, with significant elimination half-life,” says Dr. Krishnakumar, chief research officer at Akay Natural Ingredients.  

“In other words, brain tissue distribution can be considered as a litmus test for the free curcuminoids bioavailability of a formulation.”

Measuring the brain in stages
The researchers looked into their brain tissues at various time intervals using a well-validated protocol of brain tissue preparation and tandem mass spectrometry to identify, confirm and quantify free curcuminoids in the various brain regions. 

Native forms of curcumin can travel across the blood-brain barrier, but not after being metabolized, according to Akay Natural Ingredients.It is reported that the curcuminoids were observed in the brain for about six hours of time post-administration with about a three-hour elimination half-life. 

The curcuminoids from CurQfen were distributed in the various regions of the brain, with the highest concentration found in the hippocampus. The second-highest concentration was found in the striatum, followed by the cerebellum, the cerebral cortex and lastly, the brain stem. 

The curcuminoids concentration in the brain was found to be increased upon repeated dosage for 28 days. 

Importantly, the pharmacokinetics revealed no accumulation of curcumin in the brain and hence any toxicity issues.  

The pharmacokinetics plot revealed a typical absorption, distribution and elimination phase indicating its safety, reported the researchers.   

The study was carried out in comparison with normal unformulated standard curcumin 95 percent with the same dosage of around 100 mg per kg body weight. 

But the brain concentration was just less than 10 ng per g only, as compared to about 173 to 220 ng per g obtained for CurQfen.

Reaching the curcumin market 
CurQfen was developed using a patented technology known as Fenumat, which is a water-based process without any synthetic emulsifiers and hence can be certified clean label and organic. 

“We are now working with our customers to co-create novel forms of phytonutrients and their co-delivery forms for condition-specific formulations,” Nambusseril affirms. 

In other curcumin ingredient developments, Arjuna recently revealed a study showing a neuroprotective effect of its BCM-95 in mice. The proprietary ingredient is a combination of turmeric extract and purified turmeric essential oil. 

Moreover, a clinical study examining DolCas Biotech’s Curcugen suggests curcumin’s anti-inflammatory pathway could support both mood and digestive health through the gut-brain axis. 

Edited by Missy Green  

This feature is provided by Nutrition Insight’s sister website, Food Ingredients First.

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